Brands like Dior, Fendi and Valentino have responded to shifting travel patterns as some Middle Eastern customers return to familiar hubs in Europe but others choose to shop closer to home or explore new destinations during the Muslim holy month.

Check out this week’s new partners and openings on BoF Careers, the global marketplace for fashion talent.

Brands will need to sharpen personalisation to remain attractive to the Middle East’s “increasingly assertive” shoppers, says the Dubai-based luxury group’s president in this State of Fashion 2023 interview.

Doha has attracted major fashion retail investment ahead of this month’s FIFA World Cup but the Qatari capital’s ability to attract overseas shoppers long-term remains uncertain.

The deal will allow Threads Styling to deepen its ties with the key Middle Eastern market, while its new owner strengthens an improved digital and global presence.

Chanel, Dior and Valentino are making a splash this week in Dubai and Doha in a bid to excite locals who were restrained from shopping abroad during the pandemic. But will repatriated spend in the Gulf be a permanent shift?

Chanel, Cartier and Armani are focused on Dubai as the world expo gets underway but more comprehensive localisation strategies are needed across the Gulf for brands to fully benefit from the post-pandemic repatriation of luxury spend.

Top fashion executives are sharpening the skills they will need most to strengthen morale and boost business after a year of crises.